TUNES OPPIDUM Barbarie. . . - AFRICA APHRODISIUM - PENON DE VELES.

A striking sheet with three old colored, copper engraved views of Tunis, Mahdiya and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, from the second volume of Braun & Hogenberg's "Civitates Orbis Terrarum" German text to verso.
The second view depicts the massive recapture at sea and on land by the Spanish Admiral Andrea Doria and the Maltese Claude de la Sengle in September 1550. Mahdia, or the Horn of Africa, is located on an ancient site, which in the 16th century was thought to be Ptolemy's Aphrodisium.
The third view depicts a small rocky island under siege cannon fire from the land as well as from the sea. Fortifications with towers, walls and planted flags can be identified on the sheer cliffs of the island. The Spanish, battling the resident pirates there, initially captured the island in 1508.
Afterwards it fell under Moroccan rule for 42 years until the Spanish won it back 1564. after an engraving by Giovanni Francesco Camocio, c 1570. Text to verso.